


Dancing's Not A Crime

by seibelsays



Series: Fluffy Fridays [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, F/M, Fluff, Marvel Fluff Bingo 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-07 18:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19090882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seibelsays/pseuds/seibelsays
Summary: “I’ve got you, Buck,” Steve argued. “I’ve got Sam, and Nat, and the rest of the team. I’mfine. I don’t need a soulmate to be happy.”“Excuse you,I’mthe cynic in this friendship, thank you. You need to resume your unfailing faith in the universe.”“Oh do I?” Steve asked, his voice dry as the desert.“Yes. It is the rock I rely on.”*****Bucky has spent his entire life trying to find Steve's soulmate.





	Dancing's Not A Crime

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops, I wrote another soulmate fic.

_Dancing’s not a crime...unless you do it without me._

“I’m not supposed to dance without them, Buck, my Words say so,” Steve argued with a helpless shrug, as though his logic was unimpeachable. Bucky wasn’t sure if he could detach his retinas from rolling his eyes so hard, but Steve’s logic might cause him to find out.

Steve’s Words were a Problem.

Well, maybe not for Steve. _Steve_ had unfailing faith in the universe that everything would work out exactly as it should without any effort on his part whatsoever, so his unusual Words did not seem to phase him at all.

No, Steve’s Words were a Problem for _Bucky_.

Bucky did not share Steve’s faith in the universe. He’d heard too many sad stories about soulmate near-misses and never-founds. Look at his parents. Look at his grandparents. Hell, look at his own sister - Steve had been there for that mess, he should know better! Alas, Steve maintained that things would work out the way they should.

So, Bucky did as any self-respecting best friend would do.

He dragged Steve to every dance hall in Brooklyn and put him in the path of every person who looked twice in his direction. Sometimes they didn’t even have to show even _that_ much interest for Bucky to talk Steve up, set up the introduction, and hope to hell that _this_ time would be the one that was different.

Alas, Bucky’s efforts failed continuously.

And when he fell from that train in 1945, his last thoughts weren’t for himself - sure, he had a brief moment of terror for himself and sorrow for everyone he was leaving behind. He spared a thought for his own soulmate, the person destined to say the Words printed across his arm, the person who would now never hear their own Words in return. He mentally apologized to his soulmate, sending one last kiss into the ether and hoped it would reach them.

Then, he used his very last moments to send a prayer to the universe that Steve’s soulmate find him. Heaven knew that with Bucky gone, Steve would need someone to look after him.

* * *

Almost 80 years later, Steve’s faith in the universe had completely failed. To be fair, the decades hadn’t been what one would necessarily consider kind. But still, it was a bit unsettling for Bucky to see his friend give up.

“I’ve got you, Buck,” Steve argued. “I’ve got Sam, and Nat, and the rest of the team. I’m _fine_. I don’t need a soulmate to be happy.”

“Excuse you, _I’m_ the cynic in this friendship, thank you. You need to resume your unfailing faith in the universe.”

“Oh do I?” Steve asked, his voice dry as the desert. 

“Yes. It is the rock I rely on.”

“If you’re so concerned about soulmates, why don’t you put any effort into finding your own?”

Bucky glared at him. That wasn’t a topic he wanted to get into. “There is no happily ever after for someone like me, Steve.”

Steve glared right back. “There are Words on your arm, aren’t there? Universe seems to disagree with you.” Then Steve blinked, suddenly unsure. “There _are_ Words on your arm, aren’t there?

There were. Bucky’s words had been stamped across his forearm since the day he was born. But he wasn’t lucky enough for his soulmate to still be around. And even if they were, he’d be eighty years too late. They would have had every right to hate him for showing up so late. He hoped that they had moved on and been happy, found joy wherever they could. It was the best he could wish for them now - and more than he would wish for himself.

He tried to smile, but was pretty sure it was brittle as he shook his head. “There is no happily ever after for someone like me, Stevie.”

* * *

Bucky was halfway through ordering an obscenely priced coffee that he planned on paying for with a little bit of HYDRA money he’d stolen over the years when the song on the radio caught his attention.

His jaw dropped and he stared at the wall as he listened to the lyrics.

“Sir?” the barista asked, giving him a look of concern.

“What’s the name of this song?” he demanded.

* * *

Bucky paced the length of his apartment, going over the facts in his mind, yet again.

What did he know?  
1\. Steve never met his soulmate in his first life.  
2\. Steve hadn’t yet met his soulmate here in the future.  
3\. Steve’s Words were - apparently - lyrics in a _song on the goddamn radio_.

Bucky wasn’t entirely sure why he was surprised. He loved Steve, but the man had been a pain in his ass since the moment they met. Why would finding his soulmate be any different?

He stopped short as a horrifying thought came to him. What if the singer was Steve’s soulmate? How would he arrange an introduction? Granted, Steve was Captain Flipping America - they could probably arrange a meeting without much issue. Hell, half the time, it was the _celebrities_ who were clamoring to meet Steve. But what if the singer hadn’t written the song? What if it wasn’t the main writer of the song, but someone who just contributed to the chorus or something? What if Steve’s soulmate wasn’t affiliated with the band at all and was just someone in the crowd when the band played the song in concert?

Ice filled his gut at the thought. How large of a crowd did this band play typically play for? Had Steve ever seen Panic! At The Disco play live? He’d have to check on that.

(And then probably panic at his own personal disco, because he had zero idea what to do if Steve’s soulmate was just some random person in a crowd of thousands.)

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He moved to the door, checking the peephole before unlatching the locks and opening it. Speak of the devil.

“Steve,” he greeted.

“Bucky,” Steve replied, amused. “Were you expecting someone else?”

Bucky leaned against the doorframe, aiming for casual. “Nope. What’s going on?”

“It’s 2 o’clock.”

“O...kay?”

“2 o’clock on Friday.”

Bucky blinked at him and Steve sighed. “We’re supposed to meet the scientists Pepper recruited for the astrophysics lab?”

“Right. Uh,” Bucky glanced down at himself. He was in old jeans and a worn tshirt. Presentable enough to leave the house, but not what he’d normally wear when visiting the Tower. He glanced at the clock. No time to change either.

“Give me a second to grab my keys,” he said. Ah well. It was just a meeting with a few science types.

* * *

They stepped onto the lab floor and Bucky cursed every deity he had ever heard of in every language he knew. It was quite the list, so it took a minute. 

The single most beautiful woman he had ever seen was on the other side of the soundproof, bulletproof, Hulk-proof glass. Black-framed glasses and a teasing smirk, she nodded rhythmically as she unpacked the boxes scattered around the lab, calling out instructions to her companion occasionally. He couldn’t tell if the other woman responded, the way her nose was stuck in a notebook scribbling furiously, but this behavior didn’t seem to faze the brunette unpacking.

When Bucky had ever indulged thoughts about his own soulmate, this was exactly the person he had always pictured. 

So _of course_ he was a right mess on his way in to meet her. Even if she wasn’t his soulmate, he wouldn’t mind getting to know her. He cleared his throat and ran a hand over his hair before smoothing down his shirt.

Steve chuckled knowingly beside him. 

“Shut up,” he muttered, as he swiped his pass and entered his security code to open the door.

He really should have known that the universe would make him the butt of the joke. Truly. He should expect it by now.

The song he’d discovered - Steve’s damn soulmark song - blasted through the lab speakers as they walked inside.

“Whatever they tell you,” the girl sang and then spun around to face them, pointing at Steve.

“Dancing’s not a crime...unless you do it without me!” she sang at Steve.

Bucky’s heart sank. That was that, then. She was Steve’s soulmate. He shoved the disappointment down and forced a smile on his face, watching her as he waited for Steve’s reply. He briefly wondered if he’d be able to stand the look on her face when she realized she’d met her soulmate. He prayed that he could maintain his composure for at least a few minutes to wish them well before he escaped to nurse his disappointment.

And then Steve gave an unexpected response. He laughed in her face. 

Mock anger crossed her pretty features. “One day, buster, you’ll find me hilarious.”

Bucky grabbed Steve’s arm and pulled him aside. “Steve, _what the fuck_ ,” he muttered.

“What?” Steve asked. “Darcy’s always -”

“You _can’t_ just _laugh_ in your soulmate’s face the second you meet them!”

“Uh, Buck-”

“No, don’t ‘uh Buck’ me! Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Do you know what I would do to have a chance at meeting my soulmate?”

“Buck-”

“Sure, I have Words - but after all the time that’s gone by and with everything that I’ve done, what is the actual likelihood that the universe is kind enough to ever let me meet them? The kindest thing I can expect from the universe is to _never_ meet them, because there is no possible way-”

“I think you’ve got-”

“-ever give me a chance. Not with what I’ve done.”

“Buck, let me-”

“NO!” Bucky was properly yelling at Steve now, oblivious to the fact that the music had stopped and everyone in the room was staring at him. “I have spent my entire life trying to help you find your soulmate. You’re the one who has been perfectly happy to just let the chips fall wherever they may, when you’re one of the few people who actually _deserves_ to find their soulmate. And now that you have, you _laugh_ in her face? What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!”

**_“Have you seriously spent your entire life trying to shove Steve in the path of his soulmate?”_ **

Bucky spun around, stunned, to find Darcy standing behind him.

**_“You didn’t just say that - you can’t have just said that. You’re meant to be Steve’s soulmate, not mine!”_ **

Her eyes bugged out of her head. He heard a camera click off to his right.

“Oh this is so going on Facebook,” Jane said.

“Okay,” Darcy said, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking back up at him with a polite smile. “One. Hi, I’m Darcy, and apparently I’m your soulmate. Lovely to meet you.”

“Bucky,” he replied weakly.

Her smile grew into a grin and his heart skipped a beat. Was he breathing? Someone should check to make sure he was still breathing. “Two, why did you think I was Steve’s soulmate?”

“You...just now...Words.” If his past self were here, he’d kick his own ass for the complete and utter failing of his charm in the face of his soulmate.

“Those weren’t my first words to him. We met like a month ago.”

Oh. _Oh._

“Oh,” he said, ever eloquent.

“Yeah,” Darcy’s voice was teasing as her grin grew. “Three - Janey, no one uses Facebook anymore, don’t even bother.”

“Phooey,” Jane muttered.

“What the hell just happened?” Steve asked, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.

“I just scored a day off,” Darcy declared, then turned back to Bucky. “Excellent timing, my dude, unpacking is a bitch.”

“You...we…” Bucky sputtered.

“Yeah. We’ll work up to full sentences, it’ll be fine.” She turned to Steve. “As a reward for bringing me my soulmate, you get to help Jane with all the heavy stuff today. Cool? Cool.” She looped her arm through Bucky’s and led him out of the lab. “How do you feel about Thai food?”

“Pumpkin curry is my favorite,” he replied automatically, still not entirely sure that this wasn’t some elaborate dream. Maybe he was still in cryo and HYDRA had finally fried his brain one too many times.

“Bucky, I think this is the start of something beautiful.”

He glanced down at her as she smiled up at him.

Fuck it. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so too.”


End file.
